Couples Experiences

[Norway]

Hi !

We had our honeymoon at Couples Negril a few years back and just loved it. It was our paradise !

Most recent I've started to read lots about the resort, just to refresh my memory of the place and I'm a bit confused.

Our experience of the resort are nothing more than amazing, but it seems like there are a few out there from recent stays who don't share our joy for the place... And that makes me thining..

Has the resort changed so much since our stay?
Words like poor, rude, bad, "never CN" and "stay away" in some of the latest reviews on TripAdvisor is now spinning in my head.

Did we have all the luck in the world when we were at CN since we had a great time ?
CN wasnt the highend luxury resort, which I knew before we went there, but it was a fantastic resort without all that useless luxury.. I don't have to wear designer clothes and jewelery to 100K to feel good.... So is that why i loved it at CN and some don't ? Lack of luxury ?

We had some amazing dinners at CN.. the food was great... drinks fantastic... People friendly and warm...
We also had the pleasure in meeting people who we now consider our extended family. The world seems small, but when you meet people who you just love beeing around.. then the world suddenly gets very big when you are on different continents.

CN is still the place we had our most perfect trip ever.

Can someone please comment... Has the place changed to the worse ?

[PermanentVacashun]

hi Norway;

I will let you know next week...

We enjoyed our first stay at Couples Negril last August and are headed back tomorrow for our second visit(this time 10 days). In the last year we talked about Couples in some way everyday. Its the cheapest form of marriage counseling I know of...it cant help but bring you closer if you want too...

I think the negative reviews are sometimes from people who have a certain expectation and Couples just wasn't right for them from the start. They may have had a bad experience and maybe one experience gets the better of you and the rest of the week is downhill.

If you understand what you are getting before you go and keep an open mind then I think it will be more than satisfying. If you get one bad waiter or service experience move on to the next one, dont let one situation wreck your week...

Tomorrow soon come, we will be in OUR paradise in less than 30 hours..

PV

[Hoosier]

I can't speak to the past at CN. Our first experience there was in June and CN met or exceeded all our expectations. We've been to Mexico and enjoyed the Jamaican vacation more. CN was clean, easygoing and comfortable. Plenty to do if you were inclined or places to hang out if you just wanted to sit and be a couple. Loads of people enjoyed the swim up bar, even in a thunderstorm. Floating on the calm waters and sitting on the beach was our personal choice.We also spent a lot of time talking and people watching while sitting in the swings up on the veranda. We will come back again.

[johnnycakes]

September will be our 4th trip to CN. We have had a great experience every time. When you read Tripadvisor and see 95% positive and 5 % negative comments do you ever wonder who might be sending the negatives? Not everything you read on tripadvisor is gospel. YOU WILL HAVE A FANTASIC TIME.

[Amoricksen]

I have been researching Couples Negril for months now and I thought I'd found our perfect place to holiday. Somewhere for us to relax, do nothing if we wanted and with no kids. Not that we don't like kids, we just wanted a relaxing holiday, where we could have time to ourselves and not be bothered by the everyday.

I have read the exact same recent reviews on Tripadviser and I will be honest and say that it has made me start to wonder if this is the place to go to. I have convinced my partner this will be an amazing holiday and I'm so worried that he and I will be disappointed.

I just wondered if those who'd been to CN recently, could put my mind at ease and show that these reviews are just from fussy people who expected too much in the first place (don't get me wrong, with some of the reviews it's obvious this is the case).

My partner and I aren't fussy, and we don't expect five star, just somewhere we can get a little spoiled and much needed time to ourselves and relaxation. Convince me

[KrisJamie]

Something to consider:

TripAdvisor is a no check/balances site. It is a fact that other resorts will troll each other with negative reviews to draw business away. Take everything there with a grain of salt. Sometimes the stupidity contained in the review is enough to make me stop reading.

[cleversole]

I have been researching Couples Negril for months now and I thought I'd found our perfect place to holiday. Somewhere for us to relax, do nothing if we wanted and with no kids. Not that we don't like kids, we just wanted a relaxing holiday, where we could have time to ourselves and not be bothered by the everyday.

I have read the exact same recent reviews on Tripadviser and I will be honest and say that it has made me start to wonder if this is the place to go to. I have convinced my partner this will be an amazing holiday and I'm so worried that he and I will be disappointed.

I just wondered if those who'd been to CN recently, could put my mind at ease and show that these reviews are just from fussy people who expected too much in the first place (don't get me wrong, with some of the reviews it's obvious this is the case).

My partner and I aren't fussy, and we don't expect five star, just somewhere we can get a little spoiled and much needed time to ourselves and relaxation. Convince me

I read the reviews after we got back just to see what someone could possibly NOT like about CN. It was paradise and I was conviced I would find NO negative reviews. I did but as I read those, I couldn't find any merit any them. I couldn't find anything that related to the same place I had just visited. Sometimes I think people have unrealistic expectations...and I don't know how CN cannot exceed ALL expectations but I guess some people really expect too much. CN is wonderful. It is beautiful, it is peaceful. The staff is absolutely wonderful and the food is perfect. You have been there and what you experienced before is all still there. Go and have fun and don't worry about what other people think. It is all about you and your partner...and only you can determine the outcome!

[kurlie124]

I have been at CN within the last year and I will tell you it was wonderful! No one was ever rude even with a group of three couples they were always accomodating to our requests and made us feel like kings all week long. They even went so far as to bring me a requested dish from Lychee when our group decided they all wanted to eat at Otaheiti for the last night of the trip!

I think there will always be people who are generally grumpy and won't be satisfied wherever they go.

I don't have any hesitation recommending Couples to everyone I know!!

[macsaggie2]

[COLOR="Blue"]Ahh Norway - My little grandmother would say "some folks just like sour grapes" I giggle at TripAdvisor reviews at times - where one woman stated - "looks old, it could stand a good coat of paint" - another found charm in the(intentional)"paint and patina". Some people see the world through a microscope - We on the other hand view the entire picture first to form our opinions. Life is what we make it - our vacations are the same.

Amorickson - from reading your post I think you will find CN is just what you and your partner are looking for - don't worry a bit - you will find the kindest staff, great food and beautiful beach - We will return for our 5th trip in only 43Days!! Could we go somewhere else? Yes - and we do but we always return "Home" I think you will understand as...Once you go, you know. (Have a lovely holiday)

Norway - LY (and Mon) ATI! I am thankful each day for you guys!

[gottaluvtink]

We experienced our first stay at CN about 3 weeks ago and it was fabulous. We will definitely go back. The staff was amazing. The food was good..great beach..dive staff was excellent. As Norway stated, it is not a luxury resort and we knew that going in. All I can say is that we had an amazing vacation and will go back. You won't be disappointed in choosing CN.

[custer]

We were there in October and will be returning in 100 days. We could not find one negative thing to say and we have travelled several times to Mexico, Cuba and once to a different resort in Jamaica. Alot of people are just "all over" negative and unfortunately cannot find the good in anything. It is really sad; it makes me think that life must not be very good for them if they can't see the positive over the negative. Don't worry...you will have a great time at CN. I can't wait to be back. Yay for sun, sand and love.

[pandorastwin]

I find that if you want to know the truth about what's stated on Trip Advisor you need to get in touch with the source through e-mail. I have many people contact me prior to a trip because of my feedback and have even become good friends with a couple of them. I will say though that I myself do pay attention to both the pro's and cons before making a decision.

[beachsam]

As someone who works in the industry I can and do go all over the Carribbean, each island holds it's own charm for me, but we return to Jamaica and Couples time after time. The service, the food, the beaches(especially Negril) are far superiour to any other resort we have been to, is it luxury-no, you will not find the marble, endless pools, glitz and hundreds of rooms of the mega resorts, but you will find a very well trained staff with genuine smiles, and graciousness that I have been hard pressed to find anywhere else. Do not be put off by trip advisor, if you look at 20 reviews you might find 2 bad, one review I saw complained about the fact that they saw fish in the water!!!! We have been to all 4 resorts and my only compalint is how do I decide which on to go back to????

[me]

I think alot of bad reviews come from people that think the place should like it was built the year they arrived at the resort. The resort is not brand new and no matter where you go there will be problems. I like the people who complain about a cracked tile in the bathrooms. There are probably 10,000 1" x 1" tiles in that room and they are worried about a missing or cracked tile. I like the rustic look and feel. I thought the food was great as well. It's nice that it does not feel like your staying at a motel/hotel with shiny white walls all around. Your there to relax and have fun, not nitpick everything.
I too read the tripadvisor reviews and can put that most bad reviews are from people that you just can't please no matter what you'll do. I went on this trip thinking I would hate it but I acutally had a ton of fun. Now were headnig back for our second trip and taking about 40 people with us. If your pleasant to the employees they will be to you. When you treat them like your slave of course they are going to be upset.

[karinjim]

We have been to CN 3 times and CSS and CTI 1x each. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with CSS or CTI, they are just different. I miss CN a lot and can't wait to get back. I don't know if I will be able to go next spring but only due to family obligations and a poor economy.
Go with an open mind and remember some people you just can't please no matter what.
Karin

[Marnies]

I have to agree. There are a lot of bogus reviews on TA along with alot of true and honest ones.
That being said, THERE US NO SUCH THING AS A BAD COUPLES RESORT!!! Each are unique in subtle ways, decorating and ambience but the common denominators are the food and service.
Relax, you will love CN and if by chance it is not all you had hoped, tell them right away! Couples will make it right or ship you to another resort. It's like there is an unwritten rule that unahppiness is not allowed at Couples.

[Tupperitaville]

Amoricksen: I will be happy to convince you....

We went to Jamaica for the first time three years ago - we have been three times in less than 3 years and are heading back this October. So 4 times in just over three years.

We love the no kids - and we love kids as we have five between us - but it is our time to enjoy each other. I can stay at a 5 star hotel and I can sleep in a tent so I am flexible and I enjoy the ease of Couples - anything you want - whenever you want. The rooms are fine for sleeping - although I personally enjoyed the Garden Suite the best - more room and less humidity in the room itself. But my second love is the sun, beach and the sand (first is my husband and kids) - a VERY close third - rum drinks in my hand - so what a perfect place to get all those those things I love - my husband, the beach and the rum!

Have a great trip - I do not belive you will be disappointed!

We do split our trip between the cliffs and Couples and we REALLY enjoy that ALOT! Try it...

[Sue and Randy]

if you look at the reviews as a whole at TA you may find one or two that totally go against everything you remember. i remember seeing complaints about the swim up bar at Swept Away on that site before there even was on at the resort.

that being said i do know folks have some not so great experiences while visiting any Couples Resort. mostly due to not researching where they are going and the resort rooms motif and other issues.

it not the marble and glitz of some other resorts in this world and some folks will never be happy no matter what is done for them.

so i guess my advise is to read recent reviews as a whole and see what the majority of folks say. there have been competitors post on there before.

Randy

[ORV]

Something to consider:

TripAdvisor is a no check/balances site. It is a fact that other resorts will troll each other with negative reviews to draw business away. Take everything there with a grain of salt. Sometimes the stupidity contained in the review is enough to make me stop reading.

Yes, that is true, and there is a certain percentage of the people that are never going to be happy. On the other hand you must keep in mind that this website is highly monitored/censored with a high concentration of Couples cheerleaders.

You have to look at all sources and use your best judgment. We're headed back to Couples for our 4th trip. We and many others like us wouldn't be multiple returning guests unless Couples was a quality product. Unless you are super hard to please you'll love Couples.

[dandj]

Why would you care what anyone else thinks. You have been ther and you know how much you liked it. It could not have changed that much since you were there.

[Amoricksen]

Thanks so much to everyone for all of your posts, I feel much better about my decision to visit CN after reading them all.

I always felt deep down that it was the right decision and I have to laugh at some of the posts on Trip Adviser, but even so, they still make you wonder a little if you are doing the right thing. I too have read the posts where people complain about fish being in the sea and seeing an ant in their room, (it's a tropical climate, what do you expect lol). The best one was someone complaining that a couples employee showed them to their room and "pointed" to the room, she went on to say "did you hear me, I said he pointed to the room". Some people are just so spoiled.

I long suspected that these were just hard to please people, but you have all now convinced me of it.

My boyfriend and I are definately not "super hard to please" people, so I'm sure we wil love it at CN. We generally have a good time wherever we go, as we make the best of most situations. But as we tend not to have too many holidays on our own, as we like to holiday with my boyfriends two kids, this is a bit of a special trip for us, as our last holiday alone together was in 2002. I think that this just made me a little paranoid and worried that I'd be disappointed. I'm not worried now as you guys have helped put my mind at ease. Thanks everyone!!!

[denkim]

we have been to CN 6 times in the last 6 years and once to St Lucia in that 6 years.
I will never go any place else. We have learned our lesson. We let another couple talk us into trying St Lucia with them. We read rave reviews on Tripadviser about the St Lucia resort. It was not good. It was supposed to be a 5 star resort. It didn't even come close to CN.
Never again will I trust Tripadviser.

[doncindy]

Norway and Amoricksen
My 2 cents please. I too have read some of the reviews and I also laugh it off. If the people writing these negative reviews are legit... (and I question that) Those are the types of people I do not want to socialize with at all. They are never happy. I think we all agree that Couples does everything they can to make our vacations the best that it can be. As stated above there will always be complainers, no matter how hard you try to please them. Heck, don't you go on vacation to relax? There are hundreds if not thousands of us writing about how great our vacations were at Couples. I truly believe the people on this message board reply to questions with heartfelt honesty. I don't think you can say the same for the reviews on TA. Do you? Norway, paradise is still there!
Don

[PermanentVacashun]

Hi Norway, I got home to CN last night. Its still Couples, fantastic.

The room is the same, yes they need a refurb,its been discussed but I dont care about that , one improvement no ants so now what fun am i going to have not chasing em...

the front desk was great on arrival they gave me a great room, I wanted 1309, but its taken so got 3rd floor unit 2. just as good.....

the important things like the staff, the food, the vibe are all perfect.

lots of room the resort is about 50-60% so come now (no Iam not in sales here ...but i could be...lol)

The service is phenomenal..

happy travels,

PV

[KrisJamie]

On the other hand you must keep in mind that this website is highly monitored/censored with a high concentration of Couples cheerleaders.

Some of us are cheerleaders because Couples impresses year after year. That's what makes some of the TA reviews so "funny". If I had only been to CTI a couple of times (or one) met a limited number of staff that may or may not be present, I'd be much more willing to accept some of the outrageous claims made.